Greetings! I'm a newbie to this site...so I'm overloaded with reading posts and trying to figure out what to do with my hair!!

I have a mixture of 3a/3b, baby fine hair. I do color it as I'm almost 50 and hate gray hair with a passion!
I have short hair - lower ear level. I'm letting it grow back out from an earlier pixie cut. Some day it's humid in Central Texas (frizz) and other days it's perfect outside (curl)...

What should I use to clean my hair? I have no problem using just a conditioner but no clue where to start.
I cannot afford what my stylist recommends: Kevin Murphy brand...way too expensive. Need something I can buy locally at the grocery store or Sally's - that sort of thing.

You can try Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner. Its readily available and I don't think it will be too much for your fine hair. If it is any other Suave Naturals line would do. I thought the coconut would be good because it has protein in it which is good for fine hair.

To get more product suggestions, we would have to know the porosity level of your hair and if your hair is dry and frizzy. You can do the following test.

1. Your hair soaks up water easily. Your hair dries quickly. Your hair absorbs the hair dye quicker than the time indicated on the box. When you run your finger along a strand of hair from end to root, it is bumpy. = porous hair

2. Your hair takes a long time to soak up water, long time to dry, takes longer time to dye. When you run your finger up the strand it is silky smooth. = low porosity.

Yeah most people on here use a cheap conditioner to clean the hair because the point isn't really what it does to your hair -- it's all about getting the gunk off your scalp and getting it to rinse away easily. I really like the VO5 conditioners because they're CG, have really good scents, and they're a little runnier which makes it easier for me to really get to my scalp and scrub and rinse them away. My favorite right now is the Blackberry Sage Tea, just for the smell. I've also been known to use Suave Naturals conditioners as well when I want to switch up the scents. Those work just as well but are a little thicker.

This summer I also really liked using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner as my co-wash, because I think the tea tree oil was a little bit more cleansing and the minty tingle felt good after a sweaty summer day. I know a lot of people miss that really scrubbed-clean feeling they get from shampoo when they go to a conditioner only method, and so that conditioner is a good substitute which won't damage your hair as much.

You can probably use almost any styling product without -cones if you have fine normal porosity hair.

For co-washes, as lizzlebelizzle said, you can use anything. Suave Naturals, VO5, or GVP Conditioning Balm (from Sallys). You can use any of those as a leave-in but since you have fine hair you probably don't need a lot. Then add a gel on top. You can try HETT which a lot of people like, or Giovanni LA style gel. Ecostyler at Sally's might also work escpecially on the humid days. The gel should help to seal your hair and prevent frizz. Lastly, you could probably work in some protein treatments every now and then since you have fine hair that you color treat it. I hope that helps.